# Ethical to buy rice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 24, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668 "2008-04-24T12:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668/61 "2008-04-27T11:20:25Z")
[QUOTE=lawoot] No, the food bank will give the RICE to local people, who may not be able to afford it otherwise. I don’t see where money enters into it - food banks give out FOOD, not money. [/QUOTE] My bad. I meant to say food. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668/62 "2008-04-27T11:52:34Z")
Thailand is the largest rice exporter in the world, but prices have been skyrocketing. Vietnam just won a major bidding contract to sell rice to the Philippines, Thailand lost, and for reasons I do not understand, they say this will drive the price up even more in Thailand. They’re fearing a domestic shortage, too, possibly from too many farmers growing biofuel crops now. There’s been panic buying lately, and many stores have started limiting how much can be bought in one go. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668/63 "2008-04-27T12:32:55Z")
Perhaps the rice producers in the US should just tell the rest of the world that the price increases are a result of the mismanagement of _their_ economies? (Isn’t that the gas price excuse de jour?) ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668/64 "2008-04-28T22:05:52Z")
Heh, while we’re on ethics, let’s not even mention how carbon credits are impacting farmland by corporations buying the land, planting trees and letting it sit so they can earn carbon credits. I hear this is going on in Australia. I wonder how this affects the price of commodities. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668/65 "2008-05-04T03:08:09Z")
I wonder how much of this is hype. I bought rice at the store the other day. It was on sale. All the rice was on sale. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668/66 "2008-05-04T04:48:16Z")
No matter what I buy, whether food or otherwise, there will always be plenty of people on the planet who “need” it but can’t afford it. And no matter what I \*\*\*don’t \*\*\*buy, because I can’t afford it, there will always be plenty of people on the planet who do buy it, and can easily afford it. So what does this prove? Do I have to feel guilty whenever I buy a pound of rice, because someone needs it more than I do (as if there is a fixed amount of rice in the world, which is not the case)? Should someone with free medical care feel guilty because I need health insurance, but can’t get any? This is insane. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethical-to-buy-rice/446668.md?page=3)